1.1 Definition of Messianic Judaism

The term ‘Messianic Judaism’ is used in differing contexts and carries a wide variety of meanings. Most forms of Judaism – Haredi, Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, and Reconstructionist – believe in a Messianic age, if not a personal messiah (Cohn-Sherbok 1997). Jewish theologian Michael Wyschogrod has argued that

[a]uthentic Judaism must be Messianic Judaism. Messianic Judaism is Judaism that takes seriously the belief that Jewish history, in spite of everything that has happened, is prelude to an extraordinary act of God by which history will come to its climax. (Wyschogrod 1996: 254–245)

This article uses the specialized sense of ‘Messianic Jew/Judaism’ as referring to Jews who believe in Yeshua as Messiah and practice a form of Judaism that includes and is shaped by this belief. ‘Messianic Jew’ (or MJ) is now the generally preferred self-designation for Jewish disciples of Yeshua, alongside accompanying terms such as ‘Jewish Christian’, ‘Hebrew Christian’, ‘Christian Israelite’, ‘Jewish believer’, ‘Jewish disciple of Jesus’, and ‘Christian Jew’ (Harvey 2009: 8–12). ‘Jews for Jesus’, a generic term that became popular in the 1970s, is also the name of a specific organization focused on evangelism to Jewish people and in this article is reserved for that particular organization (Harris-Shapiro 1999; Robinson 2005; Harvey 2021). The term ‘Messianic Judaism’, whilst used at the beginning of the twentieth century (Cohen 1910), came to prominence as a rallying call for those who wanted to form their own Messianic synagogues and congregations rather than remain within the traditional churches, the position of the majority of Hebrew Christians in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries (Darby 2010; Rausch 1982).

The Messianic movement can be broadly defined as the growing number of self-identifying Jewish disciples of Yeshua to be found in Jewish, Christian, and Messianic Jewish communities. Conservative estimates using this broader definition of the numbers of Messianic Jews range between 150,000 to 1.5 million globally (Harvey 2023b). A narrower definition limits the term to those are members of Messianic Jewish congregations. Recent surveys estimate some 1,500 such groups, with 287 in Israel (Serner and Goldberg 2021: 47; Soref 2018), more than 1,000 in USA, and others throughout the world. There are several streams within the movement, and national and international organizations that connect them. These include the International Alliance of Messianic Congregations and Synagogues (https://www.iamcs.org/about), the Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations (https://www.umjc.org), Tikkun Global (https://www.tikkunglobal.org/story), and smaller national and international networks. Cultural and religious factors differentiate the movement in Israel and the Diaspora, with each country and region having its own religious and cultural distinctives (Abramson 2005; Rucks 2014). The Russian-speaking Messianic community is now the largest group in Israel (Serner and Goldberg 2021). The estimated number of Messianic Jews in Israel is estimated to be between 8,125 (Serner and Goldberg 2021: 46) and upward of 30,000 (Soref 2018: 144–148).

Several definitions of Messianic Judaism have been proposed by national and international organizations and networks of Messianic Jewish Congregations (Harvey 2009: 8–12). The Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations (UMJC) offers an expanded definition, which includes ‘those from non-Jewish backgrounds who have a confirmed call to participate fully in the life and destiny of the Jewish people’ (UMJC 2005).

The UMJC expanded definition emphasizes in common with other definitions (Harvey 2009; Rudolph and Willetts 2013; Serner and Goldberg 2021; Seif 2019):

1. Integration with the Jewish community: Messianic Jewish groups are to be fully integrated with the Jewish people, sharing in its history and covenantal responsibilities as God’s chosen people. This is often expressed in strong allegiance to the Jewish people and the Land of Israel.
2. Faith and community unity: faith in Yeshua unites the Messianic Jewish community and the Christian Church, forming the ekklesia, a single Body of Messiah comprising Jews and Gentiles.
3. Covenantal responsibility and witness: Messianic Jewish groups affirm the ongoing election of Israel (the Jewish people) and prioritize fulfilling Jewish covenantal responsibilities, bearing witness to Yeshua within Israel, and representing the Jewish people authentically within the body of Messiah.
4. Dynamic Halakhah: Messianic Jewish life seeks to fulfil Israel’s covenantal responsibilities within a New Covenant context, with Halakhah rooted in scripture and adaptable to changing circumstances.
5. New covenant realities in Jewish forms: Messianic Judaism embraces the fullness of New Covenant realities through Yeshua, expressed in ways drawn from Jewish experience and accessible to Jewish people. (UMJC 2005)

1.2 Definition of Messianic Jewish theology

Messianic Jewish theology (MJT) refers in this article to the emerging theological traditions of the modern movement of Messianic Judaism. Messianic Jews combine belief in Yeshua as the Messiah with ethnic and religious self-identification as Jews. Messianic Jewish theology synthesizes Jewish and Christian traditions in its affirmation of the messiahship of Yeshua and the ongoing election of Israel (the Jewish people). Whilst there has been a traditional reluctance in Jewish thought and philosophy to articulate belief in modes of ‘theology’ and ‘systematic theology’, the artificial divisions between such activities have become less pronounced. ‘Jewish theology’ is now recognized as a legitimate activity and academic discipline that weds theory with the practice of Jewish life (Jacobs 1973; Borowitz 1991; 1999; Sherwin 1991; 1999).

Various definitions of Messianic Jewish theology have been proposed, illustrating the particular concerns of those involved in formulating them. Mark Kinzer proposes a structural and programmatic definition, pointing to the intrinsic features of Messianic Jewish theology:

Messianic Jewish theology is disciplined reflection about God’s character, will, and works, and about God’s relationship to Israel, the Nations, and all creation, in the light of God’s irrevocable election of Israel to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation, and God’s creative, revelatory, and redemptive work in Messiah Yeshua. Messianic Jewish theology is rooted in divine revelation (Torah), pursued in the context of Jewish communal life and tradition and in respectful conversation with the entire Christian theological tradition, and informed by prayer, by experience of the world, and by all available sources of human knowledge and understanding. (Kinzer 2006)

Richard Harvey emphasizes Messianic Jewish theology’s boundary-setting and the nature of its internal and external dialectics:

MJT is a theology constructed in dialogue with Judaism and Christianity, refined in discussion between reflective practitioners engaged with Messianic Judaism, and developed into a new theological tradition based on the twin epistemic priorities of the continuing election of Israel and the Messiahship of Yeshua. (Harvey 2009: 262)

Messianic Jewish theology is diverse, and beliefs can vary widely among individuals and congregations. It intersects with Jewish theology, Christian theology, and the unique perspectives of Jewish believers in Yeshua, contributing to its rich and complex nature (Harvey 2009: 265–276). Emerging streams are described below (section 3.3).

2.1 The first Jewish disciples of Yeshua

The first followers of Yeshua were Jews. The New Testament writings bear witness to the community of James in Jerusalem, which continued with Jewish Christian bishops until the Bar Kokhba revolt (Skarsaune and Hvalvik 2007). This community was one of many Jewish groups that emerged in the Second Temple period, such as the Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, Zealots, and others. Nazarenes, with their belief in Yeshua as Messiah, were accepted as part of Israel (Siegal 2022). Multiple Judaisms permitted a variety of practice and beliefs in key areas such as the use of different liturgical calendars, observance of Torah, the nature and mission of the Messiah, the relationship of Israel to the nations, the fulfilment of prophecy, and the possibility of divine incarnation (Boccaccini 1995). The Jewish followers of Yeshua in the apostolic period continued to live as Jews, often competing for acceptance amongst the claims of other groups (Horbury 1998).

These ‘followers of the way’, or Nazarenes, were known but not always accepted by the church fathers (Jerome, Justin Martyr, Epiphanius; Klijn and Reinink 1973; Pritz 2006). As Judaism and Christianity progressed in separate ways in the fourth century (Boyarin 2004), it became increasingly unacceptable to ecclesiastical and rabbinic authorities to allow the legitimacy of Jewish expressions of faith in Christ (Yuval 2006). Excluded from the Synagogue for their belief in the Trinity and the divinity of Christ and anathematized by the Church for continued practice of Jewish customs, they were labelled as Ebionites (‘the poor ones’) and suspected of legalism and an adoptionist Christology (Langer 2012; Skarsaune and Hvalvik 2007). Discussion of the nomenclature and theology of such groups is complicated by questions of method and perspective, which are beyond the scope of this entry (Jackson-McCabe 2020; Reed 2022).

Whilst accounts differ, many scholars accept that the so-called ‘parting of the ways’ between Judaism and Christianity was slow, unstructured, and incomplete until the fourth century (Becker and Reed 2007; Baron, Hicks-Keeton and Thiessen 2018). Recent scholarship has challenged the early date for the developing schism between the emerging Jewish and Christian communities between the years 70 and 135 CE and has recognized the continuity of Jewish expression of faith in Yeshua through archaeological and literary evidence in both Jewish and Christian records. The ‘partitioning of Judaeo-Christianity’ (Boyarin 2004) was a gradual process in which, as borderlines between the Jewish and Christian communities hardened and became less permeable, the Jewish Christians were faced with the choice of marginalization and ostracism by the larger groups of Jews and Christians, or assimilation into one group or the other at the cost of renouncing aspects of their practices and faith (Langer 2012).

The concerns voiced by church fathers were motivated primarily by worries about Judaizing influences on Gentile Christians. Leading church fathers such as Justin Martyr, Jerome, and John Chrysostom viewed Jewish Christians with suspicion. Justin recognized the existence of those who continued to observe distinctive Jewish practices such as circumcision, Sabbath, and kashrut (dietary laws). He considered some as acceptable and others as unacceptable. Jerome wrote to Augustine of the dangers of Jewish Christians. Chrysostom warned Gentile Christians against worshipping in synagogues and adopting distinctive Jewish practices. The early Jewish Christians were suspected of holding heretical beliefs on the role of the Torah and the deity of Christ, and were denigrated because of their continuing adherence to the Law, and for fear on the part of Christians of being forced to adopt Jewish practices. Similarly, negative accounts of Jewish Christians are found in early rabbinic literature (Jocz 2019; Boyarin 2004). Whilst these accounts were only written down in the post-Constantinian era, they likely witness to the presence of Jewish Christians in the early years of nascent rabbinic Judaism. Their insights into the Torah, their practice of healing in the name of Yeshua, and their speculative interpretations of scripture present an authentic testimony to the continuing interaction between Jewish Christians and the rabbis over several centuries (Broadhead 2010). The cultural influence of Christianity, once it was allied to the Roman Empire, and the presence of Jewish Christians within the Jewish community were seen as a double threat endangering the physical and spiritual continuity of Israel in a hostile environment.

The isolation, marginalization, and outlawing of Jewish Christians by the mainstream groups of Jews and Christians was a result of the mutually exclusive self-definitions of the larger groups. It became increasingly difficult to maintain Jewish life and practice whilst affirming faith in Yeshua Christ as both Messiah and Son of God incarnate (Jackson-McCabe 2020).

2.2 Patristic and medieval periods

Small groups of Jewish Christians continued in the East (Gager 2003; Reed 2022), and Jewish converts to Christianity were afforded protection in the midst of a predominantly unwelcoming European church by institutions such as the Domus Conversorum (House of Converts) which was maintained by royal patronage (Schonfield 1995). But it was not until the modern missionary movement and an interest in missions to the Jewish people that a self-identifying community of Jewish Christians reappeared. The Deist John Toland foresaw a Jewish expression of Christianity (Jackson-McCabe 2012), as did others interested in the restoration of the Jewish Christians (Schonfield 1995; Cottrell-Boyce 2020).

2.3 Nineteenth- and twentieth-century Hebrew Christian movement

In 1809, Joseph Samuel Christian Frey, son of a rabbi from Posen, Hungary, encouraged the formation of the London Society for the Promotion of Christianity Amongst the Jews (CMJ) (Gidney 1908). In 1813, Frey gathered forty-one Hebrew Christians to form the Benei Abraham (Children of Abraham), the first independent Hebrew Christian association. Encouraged by CMJ and other Jewish missions, the growing number of ‘Hebrew Christians’, as they called themselves, formed their own Hebrew Christian Alliance of Great Britain (1866), Hebrew Christian Prayer Union (1882), and International Hebrew Christian Alliance (1925) (Darby 2010).

In 1883, Joseph Rabinowitz founded the ‘Israelites of the New Covenant’ in Kishinev, Bessarabia. He held services in Hebrew and Yiddish, and word of his activities encouraged the growth of Hebrew Christian churches worldwide (Kjær-Hansen 1995). Rabinowitz’s work was welcomed by philosopher Vladimir Solovyov (1853–1900), a leading public intellectual arguing for Jewish civil rights who regarded Rabinowitz’s community as a Jewish expression of the Catholic faith (Solovyov 2016). At the beginning of the twentieth century Hebrew Christian churches were formed in Europe, the USA, and Palestine.

Mark John Levy worked tirelessly for the formation of the International Hebrew Christian Alliance (Harvey 2023a: 66–80). He was successful in his attempt to gain approval from the Episcopalian Church in the USA for Jewish Christians to continue to observe Jewish customs such as Sabbath, circumcision, and kashrut, but was widely rejected by his fellow Hebrew Christians who saw this as Judaizing and going back under the Law. A small minority of Hebrew Christians argued for his position (Cohen 1909; Cohen 1910; Lillevik 2014). Sir Leon Levison, first President of the IHCA, set up a commission for the establishment of the ‘Hebrew Christian Church’ (1927), which in consultation with other Christian denominations proposed a constitution, articles of belief, and services for the ordination of ministers, following the main Protestant denominations. This was completed in the 1930s but was overshadowed and put on hold by the need to respond to rising antisemitism in Europe.

Hebrew Christian churches in Europe, Palestine, and the USA developed their own liturgies in Yiddish, Hebrew, and their vernacular languages. In the United Kingdom in the 1920s, Paul Levertoff, an Anglican minister from a Hasidic Jewish upbringing, officiated at the ‘Meal of the Holy King’, a combination of Jewish and Christian liturgy, with the encouragement of Orthodox Priest Lev Gillet (Gillet 2013).

After the Second World War, the Shoah (Holocaust), and the establishment of the State of Israel, Jewish disciples of Yeshua from a new generation rediscovered their ethnic roots and expressed their faith from a Jewish perspective. In 1974, the Hebrew Christian Alliance of America changed its name to the Messianic Jewish Alliance of America and encouraged the establishment of Messianic congregations and synagogues (Rausch 1982; Ariel 2000). In Israel, a new generation of native-born Israelis (sabras) started Hebrew-speaking congregations (Kjær-Hansen and Skjøtt 1999; Serner and Goldberg 2021). The growing international network of Messianic groups now expresses denominational, theological, and cultural diversity.

The 1970s witnessed the emergence of Messianic Jewish congregations in the USA, Israel, and around the world. Growth and development in the 1980s saw the formation of the Union of Messianic Congregations with twenty-one congregations. The Messianic Jewish Alliance of America, renamed from Hebrew Christian Alliance of America in 1975, held conferences and contributed to the movement’s theological development.

The 1990s brought continued growth, especially in the former Soviet Union, with the establishment of the International Alliance of Messianic Congregations and Synagogues in 1994. The twenty-first century witnessed ongoing growth, particularly in Western Europe. The Messianic Jewish movement evolved, maintaining core values of Jewish identity and faith in Yeshua, fostering congregations, and engaging in theological scholarship and engagement with Christian and Jewish scholarship (Robinson 2005; Patrick 2021; Kaplan, Rosner and Rudolph 2023).

Messianic Jews observe the Sabbath, keep kosher food laws, circumcise their sons, and celebrate the Jewish festivals, seeing Yeshua and the disciples in the book of Acts as their model and example. They observe the Sabbath, keep the Jewish calendar, and bring up their children to have Messianic bar and bat mitzvah. They celebrate Passover showing how Yeshua came as the Passover Lamb, and practise baptism, linking it to the Jewish mikvah (ritual bath). They worship with their own liturgies, based on the Synagogue service, with readings from the Torah and New Testament. Pointing to Paul’s teaching in Romans 9–11 and his practice on his missionary journeys, their hermeneutic of scripture repudiates traditional Christian anti-Judaism (‘the Jews killed Christ’) and supersessionism (the church replaces Israel as the ‘new Israel’), arguing for forms of Torah observance that testify to the presence of the believing remnant in the midst of Israel as a witness to the Messiah. Messianic Jewish life has a rich variety, building on both Jewish and Christian tradition, culture, and practice (Feher 1998; Harris-Shapiro 1999; Poll 2008; Serner and Goldberg 2021).

There are several streams of Messianic Judaism with a variety of theological and practical expressions (section 3.3). They assume the epistemic foundations of the Messiahship of Yeshua and the ongoing election of Israel as the people of God (Harvey 2009: 265). They focus on observance of the Jewish calendar (Passover, Rosh HaShanah, Yom Kippur) and lifecycle (circumcision for boys, bar and bat mitzvah, Jewish marriage customs). They have diverse practices of baptism and communion. Most are closely associated with North American evangelical Protestantism and the charismatic renewal movements.

Increasingly, the Messianic Movement has been influenced by the Postmissionary Messianic Judaism of Mark Kinzer (2005), Stuart Dauermann (2017), and the Hashivenu (‘Cause us to return’) group (http://hashivenu.org). Dauermann, a Messianic Rabbi and founder of Hashivenu, has written on the hermeneutics and missiology of the Messianic movement. His own development from ‘Missionary’ to ‘Postmissionary Messianic Judaism’ is representative of many in the Messianic movement (Dauermann 2001). The Hashivenu group advocate more traditional Jewish forms of practice and thought, situating Messianic Jewish life within the wider Jewish world rather than within evangelical Protestantism. The Messianic Jewish Rabbinical Council (2006) was established

to articulate and promote a cohesive vision for Messianic Judaism rooted in Torah, responsive to Tradition, and faithful to Messiah Yeshua. It brings together Messianic Rabbis who develop standards for Messianic Jewish practice. (MJRC 2022: 57)

3.1 Assumptions, methods, and resources

Methodological challenges, including defining sources, norms, methods, and content, have been under negotiation since the beginnings of the modern movement in the 1970s. Just as within Jewish and Christian theology, a methodological pluralism exists in contemporary Messianic Jewish theology, reflecting the concerns and emphases of various practitioners as they articulate universal and general aims in particular historical, philosophical, cultural, and religious contexts. Messianic Jewish theology would affirm the need for the same criteria, with appropriate modifications as to the range and nature of sources consulted, and with the faith community referring specifically to the Messianic Jewish community within the larger Jewish community of which it claims to form a part (Harvey 2009: 7).

Significant efforts, such as the Borough Park Symposia (BPS 2012, 2013, and 2020), along with various publications, have attempted to organize theological discussions within the Messianic Jewish community. Contemporaneity is also a concern; early writings from the 1970s and 1980s can become outdated. Contemporary issues around Jewish identity and survival, the question of Israel and the ethics of the Israel–Gaza war, and the mission of Messianic Jews need to be addressed by Messianic Jewish theology in relevant and constructive ways.

Communal acceptance is crucial for Messianic Jewish theology’s growth and maturity. It must satisfy the needs of the Messianic community and engage with wider Jewish and Christian audiences. The changing demographics and cultural influences, and their impact on the calling and mission of Messianic Jews in the diverse landscapes in which they are situated, pose many challenges for the future development of Messianic Jewish theology (see section 7).

3.2 Hermeneutics

Since the early Jewish followers of Yeshua, Jewish Christians have posed a hermeneutical and theological challenge to both Jews and Christians. The modern Messianic Jewish movement emerged from the Hebrew Christian movement of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries but lacks a continuous theological tradition and a distinct Messianic Jewish hermeneutic. A methodological pluralism exists in hermeneutical and theological approaches within contemporary Messianic Judaism, drawing from both Jewish and Christian traditions. The emergence of the post-supersessionist and ‘With Judaism’ approaches have enabled Messianic Jews to build their hermeneutics with stronger academic basis (Kinbar 2013c; Nyström 2021; Kinzer and Rosner 2023; Soulen 1996).

Both traditions consider their respective holy texts (the Hebrew Bible/Tanakh for Jews and the Old and New Testaments for Christians) to be the authoritative source of divine revelation. Within Messianic Jewish theology there is a spectrum of understanding of the nature of the authority of both traditions (Kinbar 2013b). Messianic Jews employ various methods of interpretation, including literal, allegorical, and contextual approaches, to understand and interpret their holy texts. They recognize the importance of studying the historical and cultural context in which those texts were written but emphasize Jewish readings of scripture in the light of later Jewish tradition.

Kinzer highlights the role of the reader’s social location in the interpretive process, especially within communities that view themselves and their texts as sacred. This is crucial when Christians study New Testament perspectives on the church and the Jewish people. Kinzer employs Culpepper’s ‘hermeneutics of ethical accountability’, considering both the historical context of the texts and their contemporary use (Kinzer 2008: 30). Kinzer emphasizes the practical effects of reading strategies on Jewish authenticity: how theological ideas impact Jewish behaviour and community life. Kinzer’s hermeneutic integrates sociohistorical responsibility, ethical accountability, and theological criteria, drawing from both Christian and Jewish traditions to communicate effectively with both audiences.

Harvey identifies the key hermeneutical concerns of Messianic Jewish history: the identity of Yeshua as Messiah, the continuity of God’s covenant with Israel (people, land, and law) and the theological significance of Messianic Jews for both the church and Israel (Harvey forthcoming a). Following contemporary Jewish hermeneutics, the pre- and postcritical methods of Jewish hermeneutics are blended with critical studies of the biblical and postbiblical texts in both ‘emic’ and ‘etic’ configuration (Zetterholm 2012; Briggs 2023). Figural and intertextual readings, as found in both Jewish and Christian interpretive traditions, are the hermeneutical base for theological reflection and construction.

3.3 Main theological streams

Contemporary Messianic Jewish theology draws from both Jewish and Christian tradition in developing its own theological voice. Reform Jewish theologian Byron Sherwin characterizes Jewish theology using the criteria of authenticity, coherence, contemporaneity, and communal acceptance (Sherwin 1991: 9). Harvey has applied this to the development of Messianic Jewish theology (Sherwin 1991: 264–265). Messianic Jewish theology’s authenticity is reflected in its unique articulation amidst larger theological traditions, challenging traditional boundaries between Judaism and Christianity. Its coherence revolves around the Messiahship of Yeshua and the election of Israel, though a systematic statement is yet to be comprehensively developed.

Currently there is no consensus or unified theology of Messianic Jewish theology. Harvey categorizes the diverse theological perspectives within the modern Messianic Jewish movement building on previous studies by Kinzer (2005: 293) and David Stern (1988: 234–238). Stern, writing in the 1980s, identified various future options for Messianic Jews, categorizing them into ‘Ultimate Messianic Jew’ (UMJ), ‘Ultimate Hebrew Christian’ (UHC), and other possibilities within these two main categories. Stern constructs a dualism between ‘Hebrew Christianity’ and ‘Messianic Judaism’ which, in the light of later developments where overlap and merger have occurred, appears oversimplified.

Kinzer distinguishes between ‘Missionary’ and ‘Postmissionary’ Messianic Judaism. ‘Missionary Messianic Judaism’ emerged from Hebrew Christianity and missions to the Jewish people, while ‘Postmissionary Messianic Judaism’ emphasizes principles such as Israel’s irrevocable election, Torah observance, the validity of rabbinic tradition, a bilateral ecclesiology, and national solidarity with Israel (Kinzer 2005: 293). Kinzer’s framework, like Stern’s, tends to a dualism reflecting the need for Messianic Jewish theology to distance itself from ‘Missionary Messianic Judaism’, the previous Hebrew Christian expressions motivated by the Protestant missions to Jews. As the history of Hebrew Christianity shows, the complexity of Jewish disciples of Jesus in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries has been replicated in the various streams of the Messianic movement as they negotiated their Jewish and Christian identities within the social and cultural parameters of their day, and sought to express their ‘radical integration’ of their Jewishness and faith in Jesus in theological terms (Harvey forthcoming b).

Harvey’s eight-fold typology is less dualist and traces developing ‘streams’ of thought rather than clearly defined ‘schools’ within Messianic Jewish theology. It identifies representative voices for each stream, describing their methods, criteria, key concerns, influences, and future possibilities. This typology spans from those closest to Protestant evangelicalism to those identifying within Jewish religious and theological norms.

4.1 The nature of God and Yeshua

Messianic Jewish theology employs the understandings of monotheism found in the scriptures and developed in Jewish and Christian tradition. Recent studies of monotheism and nascent trinitarianism have clarified areas of discussion (Bauckham 2008; Boyarin 2004; Sommer 2009). Christian trinitarian doctrine is generally accepted by Messianic Jews but expressed in ways more relevant to and consistent with Jewish thought. Further work is needed to articulate a doctrine of revelation in the light of Jewish and Christian understandings, and to find appropriate ways of expressing the doctrine of the Trinity. Whilst some postmodern Jewish theological reflection allows for the plural nature of the one God of Israel, Messianic Jewish theology has yet to articulate the triune nature of God fully (Kinzer and Rosner 2024: 15–39).

Messianic Jewish Christology wrestles with the same challenge of expressing an orthodox Christian affirmation of the divine and human nature of Jewish in Jewish terms. Several proposals have been made, and on either side of the discussion heterodox views have emerged. Various Christologies include Protestant and evangelical (Maoz), recontextualized Nicene (Juster), Jewish mystical using Kabbalah (Sadan), the ‘hidden Messiah’ of Postmissionary Messianic Judaism (Kinzer), and adoptionist Christologies (Marcus) (Harvey 2009: 96–139).

4.2 Torah

Messianic Jews have varied interpretations of the Torah, particularly in light of Yeshua. Four main views are found, which Daniel Juster identifies as ranging from ‘Torah-negative’ to the ‘Torah-positive’ (Harvey 2009: 140–183).

1. Law of Moses as obsolete: some, like Baruch Maoz and Arnold Fruchtenbaum, believe that the Law of Moses is obsolete as Yeshua has fulfilled it. They see only the universal moral law (e.g. Ten Commandments) as still relevant, arguing that observing the Mosaic Law contradicts the grace of God and justification by faith alone. Whilst having no objection to Messianic Jews choosing to observe Sabbath, kashrut, circumcision, etc., they strongly oppose the idea that it is mandatory to do so.
2. Cultural practices without theological merit: Gershon Nerel and others view the Mosaic Law’s cultural and social practices (e.g. circumcision, food laws) as important for Jewish identity but not for religious reasons. These practices have no theological merit and do not add to righteousness, so Jewish disciples of Yeshua are free to observe them or not as they choose.
3. New Testament Halakhah based on Yeshua’s teachings: Daniel Juster, David Stern, and others advocate for observing Jewish traditions to understand the biblical Torah. They believe Yeshua and the early church established a new Halakhah (Jewish law) for the new covenant community, adapting and sometimes abandoning traditional practices. Michael Rudolph’s three-volume commentary on the 613 Mitzvot advocates a provisional but adapted reception of traditional observance (Rudolph 2019).
4. Orthodox/Conservative observance: Mark Kinzer and the MJRC observe Torah according to Orthodox or Conservative Jewish practice, viewing it as a necessary response to God’s election of Israel and the covenant community to which Messianic Jews belong. This approach emphasizes maintaining Jewish identity and community, and sees Yeshua and the early disciples as ‘within Judaism’ (Kinzer and Rosner 2023). This can lead to misunderstanding from those in more Protestant evangelical streams who see them as legalists who rely on Torah-observance for justification and salvation.

The Messianic Jewish movement is still debating these perspectives, reflecting on how to integrate Torah observance with living a godly life and following Yeshua’s example while maintaining cultural sensitivity and unity.

4.3 Identity of Israel

Discussion of Israel is based on the two poles of membership and eschatology. Most Messianic Jews accept the definitions of Reform Judaism and the Israeli Law of Return for ‘who is a Jew?’ For practical purposes one Jewish parent or grandparent is sufficient (Harvey 2009: 2; DellaPergola 2021). Many Messianic congregations practice conversion to Messianic Judaism as a means of entry into the community but do not require it (Harvey 2019; Nichol 2005). Recent discussion of the status of Christians of Jewish descent (non-Aryan Christians, Cristianos Nuevos [new Christians], and Jewish ancestors forcibly converted to the Roman Catholic Church) has opened up a large stream of inquiries for membership, especially in Latin America.

Messianic Jews are deeply engaged in eschatological speculation and activity, seeing themselves as caught up in the drama of redemption and the restoration of Israel. It is not surprising that this topic has generated more heat than light, and a bewildering variety of eschatological positions are projected on, developed, and acted out by Messianic Jews. Cohn-Sherbok’s initial survey identifies Messianic Jewish eschatology with that of Christian Zionism, and Serner’s recent survey summarizes the majority of Messianic Jewish eschatology as premillennialism with dispensationalist tendencies. Others have found greater variety and nuancing of these positions, including Kinzer’s use of David Novak’s eschatology, Lisa Loden’s plea for realism in the search for justice, peace, truth, and reconciliation in Israel–Palestine, and Maoz’s political pragmatism in the light of his ‘studied agnosticism’ (Harvey 2009: 223–261).

4.4 Messianic Jewish ethics

Messianic Jewish ethics has developed from the work of Kinbar, Resnik, and others (Kinbar 2013a; Resnik 2013). A full tradition of Musar (Jewish ethical teaching) has yet to emerge, but substantial work has been done by the Messianic Jewish Rabbinical Council to promote standards of ethical behaviour (MJRC 2022). In general, these follow Conservative Jewish ethics and Halakhah. Various ethical issues are being addressed in the movement: gender and sexuality (Saal 2016; Olson 2021), ordination of women rabbis (Brumbach 2024; Rubinstein 2024), disability (Lasko 2021; Roussel 2003), environment (Klayman 2014), and justice (Saal 2013).

5.1 Post-supersessionist thought

Messianic Jewish theology has been developing in conversation with post-supersessionist theology, finding natural affinities with the key emphases of this emerging school. The Society for Post-Supersessionist Theology includes several Messianic Jews in its membership, including those such as Mark Kinzer, David Rudolph, and Jennifer Rosner, who contribute to its discussions. R. Kendal Soulen has contributed to Messianic Jewish discussions, and the recent volume of systematic theology in engagement with the Messianic movement shows the fruit of such interaction (Soulen 2023). Post-supersessionism may be defined as

a family of theological perspectives that affirms God’s irrevocable covenant with the Jewish people as a central and coherent part of ecclesial teaching. It seeks to overcome understandings of the New Covenant that entail the abrogation or obsolescence of God’s covenant with the Jewish people, of the Torah as a demarcator of Jewish communal identity, or of the Jewish people themselves. (Society for Post-Supersessionist Theology [n.d.])

5.2 Ecclesiology

Mark Kinzer’s Postmissionary Messianic Judaism (2005) proposes that Yeshua the Messiah is hidden in the midst of the Jewish people, already present with them. Kinzer proposes a ‘bilateral ecclesiology’ made up of two distinct but united communal entities: (1) the community of Jewish Yeshua-believers, maintaining their participation in the wider Jewish community and their faithful observance of traditional Jewish practice, and (2) the community of Gentile Yeshua-believers, free from Jewish Torah-observance yet bound to Israel through union with Israel’s Messiah, and through union with the Jewish ekklesia (Kinzer 2005: 151–180).

Kinzer’s stress on the inherent ‘twofold nature’ of the ekklesia preserves ‘in communal form the distinction between Jew and Gentile while removing the mistrust and hostility that turned the distinction into a wall’ (2005: 151–180). Kinzer argues that a bilateral ecclesiology is required if the Gentile ekklesia is to claim rightfully a share in Israel’s inheritance without compromising Israel’s integrity or Yeshua’s centrality.

For Kinzer, this bilateral ecclesiology is affirmed when the church recognizes the five distinctives of Postmissionary Messianic Judaism: Israel’s irrevocable election and covenant; the normative force of basic Jewish practice (Torah observance); the validity of rabbinic tradition; a ‘bilateral ecclesiology’ that accepts the continuing position of the Jewish people as the people of God in partnership with the ekklesia of the nations; and national solidarity with Israel (Kinzer 2005: 264; Harvey 2009: 272–274).

Kinzer’s contribution and that of the Roman Catholic–Messianic Jewish Dialogue group have led to new proposals for Jewish Catholics who wish to continue to live as Jews within the Catholic Church, and have argued for the recognition of Messianic Jews as a prophetic ‘sign of the times’ for both the church and Israel (Resnik 2023).

5.3 Jewish–Christian relations

Messianic Jews are involved in three dialogues: that of the church with the Jewish people, that of Messianic Jews and non-Jewish Christians, and that of Jews and Messianic Jews. All are fraught with challenges. In recent years, Messianic Jews have been contributing to these dialogues, particularly within the Roman Catholic Church. Key figures like theologian Mark Kinzer and influential works by Christian scholars have opened doors for Messianic Jews to participate in discussions on Jewish–Christian relations, especially in addressing issues like supersessionism and the place of Jewish disciples of Yeshua in the Body of Christ. The Vienna Symposium (2021) brought together Messianic Jews, Jewish Catholics, and systematic theologians to produce significant contributions on the theological significance of Messianic Jews for the church and Israel (Kinzer, Schumacher and Tück 2023).

The Catholic Church’s involvement is particularly strategic due to the influence and the attention it commands within both the Christian and Jewish communities. The growing acceptance of Messianic Jews in dialogue is seen as a significant development that could lead to more serious engagement and recognition within the wider Jewish world and recognition of the ecclesiological significance of Messianic Jews and Jewish Catholics (Lévy 2021; Neuhaus 2023; Kinzer 2015; Resnik 2023; Rosner 2013).

5.4 Missiology of Messianic Judaism

As Messianic Jewish theology explores the calling of Messianic Jews, so it seeks to discern its mission. Jennifer Rosner sees the special role of Messianic Jews in collaboration with the missio Dei (Rosner 2021b), and Stuart Dauermann has outlined missiological proposals (2017). Harvey summarizes these approaches, connecting the missio Dei (mission of God; see Missio Dei), the mission of Israel, and the mission of the ekklesia (2013). Kinzer (2005), whilst arguing against the traditional missionary posture of ‘Missionary Messianic Judaism’, nevertheless articulates a profound missional perspective for both the church and Israel, stemming from the missio Dei and Jewish understandings of the mission of Israel to be a ‘light to the nations’.

6.1 Soteriology

Messianic Judaism encompasses a range of theological views on soteriology, particularly concerning the salvation of the Jewish people, and there has been considerable discussion over the topic (Harvey 2011a). Two theological consultations addressed the issue, the Borough Park Symposium (Rudolph 2012a; 2012b; 2012c; 2020) and the Theological Forum on Soteriology (March 2008) hosted by the Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations (UMJC). The majority of Messianic Jews adopt the Protestant evangelical understanding of salvation, but Dauermann, Kinzer, and Juster have broadened the discussion.

David Sedaca (2008) emphasizes a traditional evangelical perspective, asserting that salvation for Jews and Gentiles alike can only be achieved through personal faith in Yeshua as the Messiah. Sedaca argues against replacing biblical principles with the man-made system of rabbinic Judaism, warning that such deviations jeopardize eternal life. He reads Acts 4:12 as declaring that salvation is found exclusively in Yeshua.

Daniel Juster (2008) offers a nuanced view which he terms the ‘Narrow Wider Hope’ (NWH). While he acknowledges the classical evangelical and dispensationalist ‘Narrow Hope’ (NH), which holds that explicit faith in Yeshua is necessary for salvation, he also considers the ‘Wider Hope’ (WH) that suggests broader possibilities for salvation through general revelation. Juster cautions against assuming the efficacy of these broader means but remains open to the mystery of God’s grace. He emphasizes the importance of evangelism, asserting that, while some may respond to God through Judaism, explicit faith in Yeshua is generally necessary.

Stuart Dauermann proposes a paradigm shift in understanding the gospel in relation to Jewish people. He critiques both NH and WH perspectives for their focus on individualistic salvation. Dauermann emphasizes the communal aspects of salvation and the corporate election of Israel. He argues that the gospel should be seen as good news for Israel and criticizes the notion that Jews who do not believe in Yeshua are automatically condemned. Dauermann adopts a stance of studied agnosticism, avoiding definitive statements on the final destinies of non-believing Jews and highlighting the mystery surrounding God’s judgment.

Dauermann discerns five eschatological signs of changing times: the founding of the modern State of Israel; the liberation of Jerusalem; the regathering of the Jews to Israel from the land of the North; the repentance-renewal of the Jewish people evidenced by the rise of the Messianic Jewish movement; and a new concern for Messianic Jewish covenant faithfulness. God’s agenda has ‘begun to shift from a focus on the ingathering of the fullness of the Gentiles to the ingathering of the fullness of Israel’ (Dauermann 2008: 44). Therefore, the old paradigms need changing, one of which is the ‘bad-news gospel’ which fails to see that the gospel is, in fact, ‘good news’ for Israel.

Dauermann does not explicitly state a universalist position but is a determined agnostic. He makes no statement to the effect that his unbelieving grandmother will be in heaven, as much as he would like to hope for that. Rather, he suggests that we are asking the wrong question, or looking for answers that cannot be given (Harvey 2011a; Dauermann 2017).

Kinzer’s approach, as outlined in his work Postmissionary Messianic Judaism, introduces the concept of the ‘hidden Messiah’. He suggests that Yeshua is mysteriously present with the Jewish people despite their apparent rejection of him. Kinzer proposes a ‘bilateral ecclesiology’, where the Jewish and Gentile believers form two distinct yet united communities. He posits that the Jewish people’s historical and ongoing ‘no’ to Yeshua is, in a sense, a form of participation in the Messiah’s suffering and obedience. Kinzer’s view emphasizes the mystery of God’s plan and rejects the idea that Jewish rejection of Yeshua excludes them from God’s salvific purposes (Kinzer 2005: 213–234; Harvey 2009: 123–131).

In chapter six of Postmissionary Messianic Judaism (Kinzer 2005: 213–234), Kinzer discusses the Jewish people’s apparent ‘no’ to their own Messiah. He argues that Paul views this rejection as partially providential, a divine hardening meant to benefit the Gentiles. Kinzer suggests that this hardening involves Israel’s mysterious participation in the suffering and death of the Messiah.

Kinzer contends that, due to Christian antisemitism and supersessionism, the church’s gospel message demands Jews to renounce their Jewish identity, thus violating their ancestral covenant. Consequently, Israel’s rejection of Yeshua represents a deeper affirmation of their commitment to God. This rejection should not exclude Jews from God’s salvation plan any more than the church’s historical rejection of Israel. Kinzer asserts that the New Testament validates Judaism and that Yeshua’s presence is necessary for affirming its legitimacy.

Kinzer introduces the concept of Yeshua abiding mysteriously within the Jewish people and their religious traditions, despite their rejection of his claims. Quoting Bruce Marshall, Kinzer affirms a ‘divinely willed disharmony between the order of knowing and the order of being’, where Yeshua is present but unrecognized (Marshall 1997: 90; Kinzer 2005: 217). Kinzer draws parallels with Karl Barth’s theology, suggesting that Israel’s ‘no’ to Yeshua and the church’s ‘yes’ to him are both integral parts of God’s plan.

Kinzer also refers to earlier thinkers like Lev Gillet, who envisioned a ‘communion in the Messiah’ where Jews and Christians could unite in the Messiah (Gillet 2013). Gillet saw the Jewish people as a corpus mysticum (or mystical body) akin to the church. He believed that both Christians and Jews are united in the Messiah, despite the Jews’ partial hardening and unrecognition of Yeshua.

Kinzer’s concept of the ‘hidden Messiah’ is informed by thinkers like Karl Barth, Franz Rosenzweig, and Paul van Buren. He cites Edith Stein and Thomas Torrance, who viewed the suffering of the Jewish people as a participation in the Messiah’s sufferings. Kinzer also draws on Michael Wyschogrod’s idea that the doctrine of the incarnation is an intensification of Jewish teaching about God’s presence in Israel (Kinzer 2005: 213–235).

Kinzer concludes that both the church and Israel are indissolubly bound to the Messiah, one in belief and the other in unbelief. He argues that the Jewish rejection of Yeshua can be seen as a hidden participation in the Messiah’s obedience and suffering. However, Kinzer acknowledges the tension and mystery in these theological perspectives, recognizing that his arguments are more about a Christian re-evaluation of Yeshua and Israel rather than a Jewish recognition of Yeshua as the Messiah. This hidden Messiah concept does not provide a definitive statement on eternal destinies or guarantee salvation.

6.2 Eschatology

Eschatology in the Messianic movement combines Christian hermeneutical systems and Jewish thought frameworks (Harvey 2009: 223–261). Messianic Jews see themselves not just as observers but as active participants in the unfolding purposes of God with Israel and the nations. This interplay has led to a variety of eschatological perspectives within the movement, including dispensational and historic premillennialism, as well as amillennial, agnostic, and speculative views. These views differ in how they connect eschatology to current realities in Israel and the call for Messianic Jews to make Aliyah (relocate to the Land of Israel).

A consensus on eschatology in Messianic Jewish theology is unlikely to emerge quickly. Dispensational premillennialism remains influential, but there are alternative voices that critique this approach. There is an increasing push for a more reflective approach to biblical interpretation, challenging the assumptions of traditional schemes. Kinzer’s eschatology is more firmly engaged with Jewish thought. Additionally, there is growing concern about addressing issues of justice and reconciliation with Palestinian Arab Christians and Palestinians. Messianic Jewish theology must engage in these discussions to achieve a more nuanced understanding of the prophetic and political significance of the Land.

6.3 Israeli–Palestinian conflict

Reconciliation in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict has engaged Messianic Jews in pursuit of an ethical and political theology of peace and justice. Russ Resnik has approached the topic using a ‘four-sided ethical window’ founded on Torah, divine encounter, prophetic marginality, and eschatological hope (Resnik 2019). Israeli Messianic Jews and Palestinian Christians have met over the years in different reconciliation initiatives, and published the Larnaca Declaration (2016) as the first attempt to construct a bridging narrative and bridging theology between the two groups. Richard Harvey, Daniel Juster, Darryl Bock, Evan Thomas, and others have directly engaged in dialogue with Palestinian Christians at the ‘Christ at the Checkpoint’ conference in Bethlehem and on other occasions (Harvey 2011b).

Lisa Loden has argued for a theological anthropological of understanding of the biblical motifs of breath and blood and proposed a public theology of reconciliation in the Body of Christ in Israel and Palestine (Loden 2023). Using architectonic theology, she integrates multidisciplinary methods to construct a theological framework. This framework includes an analysis of the sociopolitical context, the history of reconciliation theology, a hermeneutical study of biblical motifs, and a survey of biblical anthropology. Her missiology emphasizes the role of the ekklesia of Israel and the nations in proclaiming the kingdom of God through a living testimony of unity and reconciliation. Her previous work in reconciliation initiatives between Messianic Jews and Palestinian Christians, whilst being a minority position in the Messianic movement, has called for an active engagement in both theological and political realities (Loden and Munayer 2014).

6.4 Viability of the movement

The Messianic Jewish movement is still in the process of formation. Its theological development is embedded in the lives of its practitioners, congregations, and institutions, many of which are still in their infancy compared with the longevity of Jewish and Christian traditions. There are academic journals such as Kesher (1993) and Mishkan (1982). Training is available for Messianic Jewish rabbis through the International Alliance of Messianic Congregations and Synagogues (https://www.iamcs.org/about), the Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations (https://www.umjc.org), The King’s University Messianic Jewish Studies (https://www.tku.edu), the Messianic Jewish Theological Institute (https://www.mjti.org), the Messianic Jewish Theological Academy (https://students.dts.edu/student-life/jewishstudies/courses), MDiv programs at Charles L. Feinberg Centre for Messianic Jewish Studies (https://www.biola.edu/degrees/g/messianic-jewish-studies-mdiv), and others. Online resources are available for the study of Messianic Jewish life (https://www.messianicjudaism.net; Rudolph 2019; Harvey 2014; https://ffoz.org/about) but have only existed for a few decades. The newly formed Yachad BeYeshua is a product of increasing engagement of Messianic Jews with Jewish disciples of Yeshua in the traditional churches, replicating in some ways the activities of the earlier International Hebrew Christian Alliance (Yachad BeYeshua 2018; https://www.yachad-beyeshua.org).

The survival and flourishing of the Messianic movement and its theology in the light of changing patterns of Jewish, Christian and Messianic Jewish identity is an open question. The generational shift from the ‘baby boomers’ who pioneered the modern Messianic movement to the following generations, and the forms of Jewish, Christian, and Messianic communal identity they will adopt, raises several issues for the development of a mature theology. How much Messianic Jewish theology will be a sub-branch of Christian and Jewish theology is beyond its control.